Bugatti Chiron 'Hommage T50S' Is the Latest Sur Mesure Gem, an Ode to Racing Too

As promised, Bugatti Automobiles only produced 500 examples of the mid-engine two-seat Chiron hypercar between 2016 and October 2023. The successor for the Bugatti Veyron carried over the bonkers 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine, albeit with some extra oomph – 1,479 horsepower for the Chiron, Sport, Pur Sport, and Noire or 1,578 hp for the Super Sport and the Super Sport 300+. It was also doubled by various derivatives like the 110 Ans Bugatti, Les Legendes du Ciel, Pur Sport Grand Prix, Profilee, or the infamous La Voiture Noire.

As always, the Bugatti Chiron was used for record-breaking top-speed attempts and whatnot – a subject of endless debate among top-tier automakers. For example, the latest to try and win the title will be Hennessey Performance, which hasn't abandoned the chase for the world's fastest car record with its 1,817-horsepower Venom F5. However, Bugatti is also preoccupied with the ultra-luxury side of things, albeit always through its motorsport-derived looking glass.

More precisely, another unique Bugatti Chiron has recently surfaced as it celebrates the pioneering Bugatti Type 50S and its racing heritage. As a reminder, Bugatti first won the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 with the Type 57G Tank. However, the brand made its official factory debut in the race six years earlier with the Type 50S, and that's how both Ettore and Jean Bugatti first got "a taste of the thrill of the Circuit de la Sarthe."

Now, the pioneer – Bugatti's Type 50S – is being celebrated by Bugatti Sur Mesure at the behest of a customer who worked directly with Bugatti's lead Sur Mesure designer, Jascha Straub. The main idea was to have a black-on-black Chiron Super Sport, and they soon realized that it could appropriately celebrate Bugatti history and at the same time wink across time at the story of the Type 50S.

Derived from the Type 46, the Type 50S became the flagship version of the large-capacity engine lineage – and the brand innovated in the horsepower race with a new five-liter supercharged eight-cylinder engine – its first engine with a dual overhead camshaft – packing around 250 ps or 247 horsepower. Mating the engine with the Type 50S resulted in a road car that was "comfortable and luxurious, as well as sleek and stylish but with the kind of performance expected from contemporary racing cars."

As such, Jean Bugatti soon thought they could stand a chance at winning the most grueling motor race in the world – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The factory team entered three racing chassis at the 1931 edition of the race, all finished solely in black rather than France's usual racing blue, and showed their potential but a tragic crash at high speed due to a tire failure when victory looked possible forced Bugatti to retire the other two as not to repeat the accident.

One of the survivors was chassis no. 50177, which more than nine decades later served as the direct inspiration for the modern-day Super Sport tribute. As such, the contemporary Chiron replicates the all-black look complete with the racer's number 5 from Le Mans, but there are also subtle nods to what happened back then – 'Le Mans 1931' is written near the rear wheel arch, and a representation of the 1931 look of the Circuit de la Sarthe sits hidden on the underside of the rear spoiler.

Additionally, the W16 engine is dressed with the same "Perlée" finish as the Type 50S motor, and inside, the black interior gets aluminum and more "Perlée" touches, too. There's also the optional Sky View roof, and the original car that inspired this bespoke creation from Sur Mesure is hand-painted on each door panel. Today, the Type 50S chassis 50177 resides with the Stiftung Nationales Automuseum – The Loh Collection in Dietzholztal, Germany, but was loaned for the special photoshoot we're currently witnessing in the gallery.